Windows
Recommended Software
Compression
Connectivity
E-mail
FTP
(File Transfer Protocol)
Usenet
news
Web
browsing
Northwest Nexus has
licensed the distribution rights to various Internet client
applications that we like and recommend to our customers. You'll
find links to these below, as well as their descriptions.
Compression utilities
Archiving makes grouping a
collection of files together easy and makes transporting and
copying these files (especially over the Internet) faster as a
result of the overall smaller file size. For these reasons, many
files are found in archived format on the Internet, on BBSes, and
on popular online services. If you're going to be downloading or
uploading files on a regular basis, then you are definitely going
to need one of the Windows clients below in order to make the
process as easy and efficient as possible.
StuffIt Expander for Windows (Aladdin Systems) expands files from the most
popular archiving and compression formats found online,
including StuffIt (.sit) and ZIP (.zip). StuffIt Expander
will also expand files in uuencoded (.uue), BinHex (.hqx),
and MacBinary (.bin) formats, as well as self-extracting
archives created by StuffIt, ZIP, and Arj. Other archive
formats supported include ARC (.arc), Arj (.arj), and gzip
(.gz). It's super-easy to use and is a great choice for new
users. Free.
WinZip (Niko Mak Computing) is considered by new and
experienced users alike to be the best compression utility
available on the Internet. WinZip features built-in
compression and decompression capabilities for ZIP, BinHex,
MIME, UUencode, XXencode, Z, TAR, Unix compress, GZIP, and
EXE (self-extracting archive) formats. Quite simply, if you
can download it from the Internet, you can install it using
WinZip. One of its best features is the ability to quickly
and efficiently check out or install an archived (compressed)
program and then uninstall it later if you decide you'd
rather not keep it. Shareware, $29/30-day free trial.
Connectivity
Think of all the steps you
go through in Windows 95 to connect to the Internet. First, you
have to open your connection profile, click Connect and wait for
the connection; you may have to do this repeatedly. Once you have
a connection, you have to start your applications. This process
of Internet connection becomes an accepted routine, but it can
become annoying if you have to do it several times a day,
especially on a slower PC. We've found a great utility that
enables you to do all of these things with a single click of the
mouse:
Dunce (Vector Development) bypasses the "Connect
To" dialog, redials even when Windows 95 Internal redial
won't work, reconnects you in the event of a disconnect,
minimizes the "Connected To" dialog, expands the
"Details" in the "Connected To" dialog,
enters your password for you in the "Connect To"
dialog, runs and closes up to four programs, dials into the
Internet when you start a program that needs you to be
connected, and enables you to schedule connections to run at
specific times. Dunce is only compatible with Windows 95. Free.
E-mail
For many people, electronic
mail is the best reason to use the Internet. It's a fast,
relatively quick, and,once you get used to it, perhaps a superior
way to keep in touch with people, exchange information and files,
and get questions answered. Mail clients tend to be the Internet
client that users work with most often. Almost everyone sends and
receives e-mail on a daily basis, and the clients used for these
tasks range from the feature-replete to the feature-deplete. A
solid mail client will allow you to do more than just send and
receive mail; it will sort your mail into folders based on
specified filters, it will spell check your work automatically,
and it will allow you to create address books and mailing lists.
Eudora Light (Qualcomm) is the de facto standard for
mail clients by sheer popularity and the best e-mail client
we've found. The 'light' version has rudimentary mailing list
capabilities (by utilizing its nested nicknaming feature),
and also has the ability to queue mail and poll outgoing (but
not incoming) mail in the background. The latest releases
have added many important features including a 32-bit native
version, offline capability, improved appearance, a revised
toolbar, basic filtering capabilities, full drag and drop,
MAPI support, and is capable of launching attachments and
URLs from within messages. Free.
FTP (File Transfer Protocol) clients
FTP clients are the most
popular method for obtaining files over the Internet. Literally
thousands of anonymous FTP sites have been set up to allow the
public to download and try out files. While Web browsers have
become more popular as of late for FTP-ing files (most have an
integrated FTP client), standalone FTP clients retain more
functionality and features than those found in Web browsers. So,
for the serious file-grabbing netizen, a standalone FTP client
may be the better application for downloading files.
CuteFTP (GlobalSCAPE) is a stand-alone FTP client with a multitude
of configurable options and features exceeding those of FTP
clients found in Web browsers and gopher clients. One of the
best features of CuteFTP is its robust stop command, similar
in nature to the stop button found on many Web browsers. This
command allows a user to stop any operation in progress while
still maintaining the connection. Beyond the stop command,
CuteFTP also integrates the file listing process with file
descriptions obtained from the index files found at many
anonymous FTP sites (extremely helpful for deciphering the
cryptic file names found at many FTP sites). Caching of
recently visited directories is another distinctive feature
found in CuteFTP. Shareware, $30/30-day free trial.
WS_FTP Limited Edition (Ipswitch)-- While Gopher clients and World Wide Web
browsers often incorporate File Transfer Protocol, none of
these can match the amount of features and configurability
options of John Junod's WS_FTP. FTP remains one of the most
widely used internet applications, and WS_FTP makes this
oft-used tool quick and painless. Available in both freeware
(the one we have at our site) and commercialware versions,
WS_FTP offers a price and feature combination that will
appeal to most users. Configuration options in both versions
include several alternative screen layouts, the ability to
associate remote files with local programs, automatic
logging, extension conversion on transfer, delete all, force
lower case on transfer, and quick screen sizing. WS_FTP also
comes pre-configured with an extensive array of FTP sites to
check out. Multiple copies of the program can be launched to
download multiple files at the same time. Free.
Usenet newsreaders
Usenet is the worldwide
collection of Internet newsgroups. Newsgroups are discussion
areas (or forums) where you can communicate with others about
topics of interest. Many newsgroups have worldwide distribution,
and their participants post messages, properly called
"articles," for all to read and respond to. A
newsreader application enables you to read newsgroup articles.
Free Agent (Forte) is a relative newcomer to the
newsreader business. Forte's Free Agent has many great
features and is easily the most configurable. Options include
offline/online newsreading, font colors, screen size,
multithreading, thread watching, thread ignoring, mark for
later retrieval, and many more. One of its best features is
the ability to extract information from another newsreader
during setup so that the user doesn't have to input the same
information over and over and ... Free.
Internet Mail
and News for Windows 95 (Microsoft) sport intuitive and
graphically appealing interfaces that are sure to impress and
entice novice users. At the same time, they offer features
guaranteed to please even the most picky of experts. Both
clients benefit from the ability to make use of Microsoft
Office's spelling checker (if you have Office, that is) and
can be integrated into the Internet Explorer 3.0 interface to
make for an impressive suite of Internet apps that gives
Netscape a run for its money. The clients also share a common
toolbar that works to ensure easy accessibility between each
other as well as with Explorer and other desktop
applications. Additional features include extensive
customization capabilities, multiple sorting keys, automatic
file encoding and decoding, import/export newsrc files,
support for multiple servers, and more. The Windows 3.1
client is integrated into Internet Explorer. Free.
WinVN (NASA Kennedy Space Center) was king of the Windows
newsreaders before Free Agent and others arrived. Amazing how
things can change in less than a year or two. Several new
features and improvements to old ones, as well as the
efficiency and ease of use that have always been WinVN's
strongest points, have WinVN once again nearing the title of
'top dog'. WinVN uses the tiled-windows approach for listing
newsgroups, article lists, and individual articles. WinVN is
one of the easiest to use newsreaders available, and there is
plenty of online help to get new users acquainted with the
program. Free.
Web browsing
The World Wide Web
continues to be the fastest growing segment of the Internet, and
for good reason. The Web is the only part of the Internet that
can offer text, sound, images, and video together in a
presentation-type layout. While very much like desktop publishing
(DTP), the Web goes beyond even DTP by standardizing the way in
which this information is presented. By making authors conform to
the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) standard, the information an
author creates for viewing over the web will be presented the
same way by every Web browser available (in theory, at least). A
browser is a program that allows a user to view the informational
'pages' that others create and offer via the Web.
Internet Explorer (Microsoft) is an excellent Web browser
that has already made more than a few big waves in the
Internet community and will likely make many more in the
future. Like Netscape, Internet Explorer has introduced
several exclusive features, some of which are still not
available from other browsers, including Microsoft's answer
to plug-in modules, ActiveX Controls. Proprietary features
that originated with Internet Explorer but that have since
found their way into other browsers include extended tags for
the <FONT> attribute, marquees, background sound
support, a search page for the largest search engine
databases on the Internet (Infoseek, Lycos, and Yahoo),
global font sizing, inline AVI video support, and client-side
image mapping. Many other features are also standard fare for
Internet Explorer including centering, transparent images,
integrated mail and news clients, inline FTP support,
advanced tables, spawned processes for opening multiple
windows, and strong support for Web security (PCT, SSL 2.0,
and SSL 3.0 security technology). Free.
Netscape
Navigator (Netscape
Communications) is the
easy-to-use browser with advanced functionality that is a
component of Netscape Communicator and is also available as a
stand-alone product. It is the world-leading software for
browsing information on the Internet or intranets. Navigator
has been updated and improved for greater ease of use. The
stand-alone Netscape Navigator 4 comes with Netcaster, which
provides push delivery of information and off-line browsing.
Navigator 4 can also provide access to Web-based e-mail and
calendaring when used in conjunction with Netscape server
products. The new features included in Navigator will help
you save time and effort with quick access to the tools you
use most frequently. Plug-ins (small programs that add
functionality to Navigator) are now downloaded and installed
automatically so they work right away without any user
configuration. New information-management tools simplify
access to favorite sites and provide one-click access to
Internet searches. Like all Netscape Communicator components,
Navigator includes open standards-based security features to
protect information such as credit card numbers and personal
financial data. Free for individual/non-profit use.
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